Permutation lock



June 7, 1938. A. J. DENERICH PERMUTATION LOCK Filed Dec. 11, 1936 2 SheetS -Shept 1 I gwua/vvto'b ANTH0NY-J2ENER/0H lnHIl June 7, 1938. A. J. DENERICH 2,119,704

PERMUTATION LOCK I Filed Dec. 11, 1956- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3 rw WM ANTHONY JflENER/GH Patented June 7, 1938 UNITED STATES PERMUTATION LOCK Anthony J. Denerich, Hartford, Conn, assignor to The Sesamee Company, Hartford, O'onn., a. corporation of Connecticut Application December 11, 1936, Serial No. 115,381

6 Claims.

This invention relates to keyless locks and has particular reference to permutation locks of the type provided with a plurality of settable wheels or tumblers bearing suitable indicia and with which are associated lock controlling elements.

An aim of the present invention is to provide an improved lock of this character which is very simple in construction, compact in arrangement, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, which may be readily assembled and installed, and which may be very conveniently operated.

More particularly, anaim of the invention is toprovide an improved keyless lock for compart ments and .the like and wherein the permutation mechanism is housed within the operating member or knob by means of which the locking bolt is moved into and out of effective position.

Other objects .Will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The inventionaccordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have shown, for illustrative purposes, one embodiment which the present invention may take:

Figure 1. is a front view of a lock incorporating my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof, portions of a compartment being illustrated;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the lock;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the knob, this view being taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 4-a is a view looking at the rear end of the knob, the spindle and the locking bolt being omitted so as to avoid confusion in illustration;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the rear end of the barrel, this view being taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the chassis or frame which supports the parts of the permutation mechanism;

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the detent which retains the permutation wheels in the various positions to which they may be set;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the locking bolt or latch with which the permutation mechanism is provided;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of themain locking bolt -or securing element;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the barrel; and Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the spindle.

Referring to the drawings, my improved locking mechanism comprises a barrel A adapted to be secured within an opening in the door of'a compartment or the like; a spindle B journalled in the barrel and adapted, when turned, to move the locking bolt C into and out of effective position; an operating-member in the form of a knob D fixed upon the forward end of the spindle so that when the knob is turned, the spindle is correspondingly turned to effect movement of the locking bolt; and a permutation locking mechanism E located within the knob and adapted,

when the prevailing combination is disturbed, to

lock the knob and spindle against rotation with respect to the barrel and, when the prevailing combination is set up on the permutation wheels, to permit rotation of the knob and spindle.

The barrel A has a longitudinal central bore extending from its forward end and terminating short of its rear end so as to accommodate the spindle B. At the rear end of thebore is a transverse slot II in which the locking bolt C is slidably mounted. The barrel is adapted to extend through an opening I2 in the door I3 of acompartment or the like and it has on its forward end a flange or head 14 adapted to engage the outer face of the door about the edge of the opening. The barrel is screw threaded, as at I5, sov as to receive a lock nut [6 whereby the head of the barrel is drawn against the door. If desired, a washer I! may be interposed between the lock nut and the door. The front face of the flange [4 has at least one latch receiving opening i8, four such openings spaced apart at being illustrated, however, so as to permit of several different installations depending upon the direction in which the locking bolt C is to be moved into and out of effective position- The locking bolt C is'in the form of a rectangular bar having, in its forward face, an inclined groove 20 adapted to receive a pin 2| projecting rearwardly from, and disposed eccentrically with respect to the axis of, the spindle B which is rotatably mounted within the barrel. On the forward end of the spindle is a head or plate 22, the rear face of which is adapted to engage against the forward face of the flange M of the barrel. This head forms, in combination with the knob. or operating, member D, a casing for housing the permutation locking mechanism. The head has two latch receiving openings 23 which are adapted to selectively register with the latch receiving recesses l8 of the barrel, as hereinafter described more.

in detail. In order to prevent longitudinal movement of the spindle within the barrel, and also for the purpose of limiting the extent of rotation of the spindle, the barrel has a circumferential slot 25, and the spindle has a radially extending pin 2'5 adapted to engage in this slot. To permit of assembly of the spindle in the barrel, this pin 25 is retractable into the spindle and, to this end, the spindle has a radially extending recess 21 which accommodates an enlargement 28 on the inner end of the pin and a spring 29 behind this enlargement. The forward end of the bore of the barrel is provided with longitudinally extending grooves 35 spaced correspondingly to the latch receiving recesses l8 and adapted to receive a ball 36 located in a radial recess 3'! in the spindle. The ball is normally urged outwardly by a spring 38, this arrangement being provided so that the spindle will be resiliently held in each of its two extreme positions.

The knob D comprises a generally rectangular box-like member open at its rear end so as to receive the plate 22 on the forward end of the spindle. The plate fits snugly within the rear end of the knob and is secured in place therein by means of screws 39 passing through openings 40 in the head and screwed into threaded recesses 4| provided in corner fillets 42 in the knob.

The permutation mechanism is generally similar to that described in my Patent No. 1,964,936 granted July 3rd, 1934. It comprises a plurality of settable numeral wheels Gil suitably supported on a shaft 8! which, in turn, is supported by the side walls of the chassis or frame 62. Each permutation wheel has associated with it a concealed lock controlling element here shown as being in the form of a disk 63 cut away at one side as at 64. The peripheries of the permutation wheels extend through slots 65 in the front wall of the knob and are provided with suitable indicia such as equally spaced numerals running from zero (0) to nine (9). The peripheries of the permutation wheels have spaced notches 66 which cooperate with the free ends of the fingers 6? of a detent 68 so that the wheels are frictionally held in their various positions. The numeral I0 designates generally the locking bolt or latch adapted to cooperate with the lock controlling elements and arranged, when the prevailing combination is disturbed, to extend through one of the openings 23 and engage in either one of two recesses i8 depending on whether the locking bar is in effective position or non-effective position.

The chassis, as shown in Fig. 6, is formed of a plate of metal bent to channel shape, and this chassis, as shown in Fig. 4a, fits between the corner fillets 42 in the knob. The side walls of the chassis have openings 15 for receiving the shaft 6!, and the front wall of the chassis is cut away so as to accommodate the permutation wheels. The chassis is provided with notches 16 for the reception of lugs Ti extending from the anchored end of the detent 6B. The side walls of the chassis at their lower ends are provided with recesses 80, the crotches 81 of which constitute fulcrums for the latch iii. Extending forwardly from these recesses are notches 82 adapted to receive the ends of a spring 83 by means of which the latch is normally urged against the lock controlling elements and towards its effective position.

The latch ill, as will be seen most clearly from Fig. 8, comprises a stamping having a cross member 85 at its pivoted end, a cross member 86 at its free end, and longitudinally extending members 81 which straddle the central permutation wheel and engage the peripheries of the lock controlling elements. The cross member 85 has laterally extending lugs 88 engaging the fulcrums 8i of the chassis and it also has a centrally located ear 89 adapted to be received by the centrally disposed loops 96 of the spring 83. Extending rearwardly from the free end of the latch 18 and disposed generally at right angles to the length of the latch is a locking lug 9i which is adapted to project through one of the openings 23 in the head of the spindle and into the recesses IS in the flange of the barrel when the parts are in locking position. The particular recesses in which the lug 9| engages will depend upon the direction of movement of the locking bolt into locking position in any particular installation. In Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the lock is shown as being installed adjacent the upper free edge of the door I3, and the bolt C is illustrated as being movable vertically upwardly into locking position, and with such an installation, the locking lug extends through the uppermost opening 23 and engages in the uppermost recess I8 shown in Fig. 10 when the bolt C is in locking position and the prevailing combination is disturbed. If, now, the combination is set up on the wheels and the spindle is turned counterclockwise to withdraw the locking bolt, the upper opening 23 will be brought into registry with the left hand recess 18 shown in Fig. 10, and if the combination is now disturbed, the latch will extend into that recess. In the event that the lock is installed on a door hinged at the right, and in which event the bolt should be horizontally disposed and moved into locking position towards the left. the bolt would be reversed end for end within the slot II, and the barrel would be installed in an angular position at 90 to the right shown in Fig. 10 so that the left hand recess l8 shown in that figure would be at the top. In the event that the bolt was to be thrown downwardly into locking position or to the right into locking position, the knob with the permutation mechanism therein would be removed from the spindle head and then replaced thereon in a reverse position to that shown in the drawings, and the other opening 23 and the other two recesses l8 would accommodate the locking lug.

For the purpose of permitting the combination to be readily changed, the shaft BI is mounted for sliding movement and carries a head provided with a lug or finger piece 96 which is adapted to extend through either one of the L- shaped openings 91 in the head 22 dependingupon the position in which the knob is assembled on the head. The spring 98 normally urges the shaft to operative position. Each lock controlling member has associated with it a hub 99 and each hub has splines or ribs I99 on its periphery. Each permutation wheel has a central opening provided with grooves adapted to. receive the ribs I00 on a respective hub. To change the combination, it is merely necessary to push the shaft to the left, referring to Fig. 4a, to thereby disengage the ribs from the wheels; then turn the wheels to the desired combination, and finally release the shaft. In order to prevent surreptitious or careless operation of the combination change means, while the latch is in locking position, the bar 85 of the latch 10 is provided with a finger i0! adapted to cooperate with the head 95. When the latch is in looking position, this finger engagesbehind the head so that the shaft cannot be moved to the right, reference be-* ing had to Fig. 4a. When the latch isin the non-locking position shown in Fig.3, the finger is out of the path of movement of the head so that a change in the combination may be effected.

It will be seen from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, that there is provided in accordance with the present invention an improved keyless lock which may be very easily installed and conveniently operated. When it is desired to install the lock, it is merely necessary to provide a round hble l2 of the require diameter in the door; insert the barrel into position in the opening and then clamp it in place by the nut I6; position the locking bolt C in the slot I! of the barrel, and then-with the pin 26 pushed into the spindle insert the spindle into the barrel. When the spindle is slid into final position, the eccentric pin 2| will engage in the slot of the locking bolt and the stop pin 25 will engage in the circumferential slot 25 of the barrel. Should it be desired to change the combination at any time, the spindle and knob are removed from the barrel so that the finger piece 96 will be readily accessible. The spindle and knob may be easily removed from the barrel by merely pressing the stop pin 26 into the spindle and then pulling on the knob. The installed lock may be very easily and conveniently operated. In Fig. 3, the bolt is shown as being in locking position, and the latch is illustrated by full lines as being in non-effective position, the prevailing combination having been set up on the permutation wheels. To move the bolt to non-efiective position, it is merely necessary to give the knob a quarter of a turn counterclockwise. To secure the door in closed position, the knob is given a quarter turn clockwise, thereby moving the bolt to locking position, and then the prevailing combination is disturbed, thereby moving the latch '10 to the effective position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not.

in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a permutation look, a barrel adapted to be fixed in position, a locking member movably carried by the barrel, a spindle mounted for limited rotation within the barrel and operatively associated with said locking member, and an en'- closed permutation lock mechanism carried by and rotatable with said spindle and having a plurality of individually and manually operable permutation wheels respectively provided with lock controlling elements. and a latch cooperating with said elements and arranged to lock said spindle against rotation when the prevailing combination is disturbed.

2. In a permutation look, a barrel adapted to be fixed in position, a locking member movably carried by the barrel, a spindle mounted for limited rotation within the barrel and operative- 1y associated with said locking member, a knob fixed on the forward end of said spindle, and a permutation lock mechanism enclosed in said knob and movable therewith when the knob is turned to rotate said spindle and thereby operate said locking member, said permutation lock 1 mechanism having a pluralityof permutation wheels each provided with a concealed lock controlling element and a latchwithin the knob cooperating with said lock controllingelements and arranged to lock said spindle and knob against rotation with respect to said fixed barrel when the prevailing combination is disturbed.

3. In a permutation look, a barrel adapted to be fixed in position, a locking member movably carried by the barrel, a spindle mounted for limited rotation within the barrel and operatively associated with said locking member, said barrel and spindle having latch receiving openings adapted to register when said locking member is in effective position, a knob secured to the forward end of the spindle and constituting a handle for turning the spindle, and a permutation lock mechanism carried by and encased in said knob and having a plurality of permutation wheels each provided with a lock controlling element and a latch cooperating with said elements and adapted to extend into said registering openings when the prevailing combination is disturbed.

4. In a permutation look, a barrel adapted to be fixed in position and having a bore, a slidable locking bolt guided by said barrel, a spindle member journalled in said bore for limited angular movement and operatively associated with said locking bolt, the forward end of said barrel having a latch receiving recess and the forward end of said spindle member having a latch receiving opening adapted to register with said recess, a knob secured to the forward end of said spindle member and constitutinga handle for turning said spindle member and also constituting a housing for permutation lock mechanism, and said permutation lock mechanism having a plurality of permutation wheels each provided with a concealed lock controlling element and a latch cooperating with said elements and adapted to engage in said registering opening and recess when the prevailing combination is disturbed.

5. In a permutation look, a barrel adapted to be fixed in position and having a bore and a flange at its forward end, said flange having latch receiving recesses, a locking bolt slidably mounted in the rear end of said barrel, a spindle journalled in said barrel and operatively associated at its rear end with said bolt whereby the bolt is moved into and out of-position when the spindle is turned, said spindle having at its forward end a head provided with a latch receiving opening adapted to selectively register with said recesses in said flange, a knob secured to said head and forming therewith a casing, a permutation lock mechanism within said casing and rotatable therewith, said permutation lock mechanism including a plurality of permutation wheels each having a lock controlling element and a latch cooperating with said elements and adapted to extend through said opening and into the recess registering therewith when the prevailing combination is disturbed.

6. In a permutation look, a barrel adapted to be fixed inv position, a locking member movably carried by the barrel, a spindle mounted for limited rotation within the barrel and operatively associated with said locking member, a knob fixed on the forward end of said spindle, and a permutation lock mechanism enclosed in said knob and movable therewith when the-knob is turned to rotate said spindle and thereby operate said locking member, said permutation lock mechanism having a plurality of permutation Wheels each provided with a concealed lock controlling element and a latch within the knob cooperating with said lock controlling elements and arranged to lock said spindle and knob against rotation with respect to said fixed barrel when the prevailing combination is disturbed, said barrel having a circumferential slot in its wall and said spindle having a stop pin adapted to engage in said slot, said pin being retractable into said spindle to permit withdrawal of the spindle from said barrel.

ANTHONY J. DENERICH 

